Toy typewriter



May 9, 1939. R, BELL 2,157,108

' TOY TYPEWRITER 7 Filed April 2, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 SFRBELL TOYTYPEWRITER May 9, 1939.

Filed April 2, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3' 60 59 J6 J4 J9 Patented May 9,1939 warren Sidney a. Beii,

I Stamford, Conn.

Application April a, 11935, sci-a1 No. time Claims.

The invention relates to an educational toy and has as an object theprovision of an'exceedingly simple, efficient form of toytypewritersimulating the appearance of a typewriter haiing aconventional' keyboard. Further objects of the invention will appearfrom the following description when read in connection with theaccompanying drawings showing illustrated embodiments of the inventionwherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a toy typewriter according to one embodiment ofthe invention, partly broken away to show the internal operatingmechanism.

Fig. 2 is a section viewed on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal broken sectional. view along the line 33 ofFig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows an elevational view of the indicia selector for driving atype carrying endless belt.

Fig. 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the escapement for advancing the platencarriage step by step.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of an inking pad taken along the line l'i ofFig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view along the line t% of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 illustrates a plan view of a slightly modified form of toytypewriter, shown on a smaller scale.

Fig. 10 is a section along the line iii-ill of Fig. 9. v

Fig. 11 is a plan view of a blank forming a complementary part of theframe of the toy typewriter according to the invention.

Fig. 12 is a. view similar to Fig. 2 but'illustrating the'selectordepressed an'd'the presser arm actuated to position a selected portionof the type carrying endless belt'against the platen.

Fig. 13 is a sectional View along the line l3 i3 of Fig. 12.

"Fig. 14 illustrates in perspective a; slightly modified mechanismforactuating the presser armor pivotedlever which slidably' guides thetype carrying endless belt.

Fig. 15 is a transverse'sectionalzview of .a'modified linkage system forpresser arm and v Fig. 16 is a plan view of Fig. 15. a."

As shown, the toy typewriter comprises an elongated hollow frame itsuitably stamped out of sheet metal or the like. Mounted on-a rearhorizontal wall it of the frame is a slidable U shaped carriage i2comprising an elongated horizontal fiat perforated bar' i3 havingupstanding terminal perforated lugsor ears M and i5 each of whichrotatably sustains a cylindrical shank actuating 'a companion bodilyrotatable therewith is a hollow cylindrical platen it which may be madeof relatively heavy cardboard or of any suitable rubber. It followstherefore that if either of the manipulating cylinders ll be rotated theplaten will also be rotated.

Arranged between spaced ears it and i5 and appropriately secured theretois a rod 69 on which is'slidably mounted spaced spring guide clips 21Band 2E adapted to removably hold a sheet of paper against platen l3.Spring clips 20 and 2! each include an intermediate refiexed or eyeportion 20" integrally associated with rearwardly extending terminal 21]normally abutting paper guide it carried by the platen carriage. By thisarrangement the spring clips exert the required pressure to hold thepaper coiled about the platen in place.

A pair of resilient slidable or fixed hexagonalshaped blocks or flatface members 22 and 23 carried by rod 39 are utilized to feed a sheet ofpaper in step by step fashion from the rear of the platen towards afront face thereof, the blocks 22 and 23 beingin contact with the paperabout the platen and constituting means for adjusting the paper relativeto the platen for line spacing purposes. Accordingly, the need forutilizing of line spacing means in the form or a pawl and ratchetarrangement is eliminated. This is animportant feature of the invention.

The lower corner portions of the spaced ears i and i5 each comprisespaced recesses or notches 25 and 2epermitting marginal portions 271 and28 of the elongated bar l3 to be slidably disposed in an associatedguide trackor channel formed by the spacedfianges 29 andv iiflflstruckout from frame iQf-Hence"platen it may be slidably guided longitudinallyof the frame. 2

Extending upwardly forwardly relative to hOrizoritaPw'all ii is aninclined 'wall fil having an intermediately arranged opening 32 throughwhich the forward-portion 36 of the pivoted presser arm or lever 33' mayher-projected. Integral with and extending forwardly o'f-the inclinedwall 36 is .thehorizontal wall 35 from which depends spaced lugs 36, thesides and bottom of which'include flanges 37 forming a rim 38 (see Figs.7, 11 and 13) adapted to be flexed to removably crimp the lower and sidemarginal portions of an associated inking pad 39 having its upperportion removably secured by a prong as 50 struck out from horizontalwall as. The forming of this prong 48 also provides the opening 48'leaving exposed a small portion of the ink pad 39 to enable reinking ofthe pad by the use of an applicator such as a small stick dipped 5 intoa bottle of ink and then touched to the pad.

Extending downwardly and outwardly from the horizontal wall 35 is aninclined wall 4| from which depends the vertically disposed flange 42 inback of which is slidably arranged the rear portion of an indicia andtype selector generally identified 44.

g Y The selector 44 comprisesa channel shaped body 45 having spacedsides 48 slidably mounted on a, cylindrical guide rod 41 secured to thespaced 5 sides 48 and 49 of the frame. .The manipulating portion 58 ofthe selector 44 is disposed forwardly of flange 42 and comprises a topwall 53 having spaced inwardly curved depending sides 54 and 55 whichmay be easily grasped by the operator to shift the selector along rod.41. The rearward portion 56 of selector 44 is bent downwardly and isdisposed at the back of depending guide flange 51 forming an integralpart of the body of the embossed keyboard designated generally 58.

Closely straddling spaced sides 46 of channel 45 and slidably actuatedby the selector is a U shaped saddle 59 having spaced sides 68 and 6|each of which includes transversely spaced arms 82 and a 83 integrallyinterconnected by a suitable arcuate eye bearing as 84 slidably guidedon the fixed rod Common to corresponding arms of the sides-of the saddleis a strap 85, the spaced straps forming a gap between which a portion88 of a flexible type carrying endless belt 81 is rigidly secured, for

example, by suitable prongs 89 struck out from the spaced straps 65,which prongs are driven into the resilient endless belt and subsequentlybent against the sides of the latter. In other words, if

the manipulating portion 58 of the selector be slidably displaced alongthe rod 41, saddle 59 will also be shifted and hence the endless typecarrying belt 81 will be correspondingly displaced. The

endless belt 81 may be of any suitable material such as cloth, or asshown of suitable rubber carrying spaced type as 18 selectable upon theactuation of the shiftable selector 44.

In Figs. 1 and 8, it will be omerved, that the top wall 35 of the frameis provided with integral arcuate depending spaced guide portions 18'which are struck out from thewall 35 of the blank shown in Fig. 11 alongthe dotted lines H and subse-v 1 quently bent downwardly to form meansfor slidably guiding the ends of the type carrying belt 61, which isretained on the guides 18' by an associated flange 12.

With the form shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the endless type belt 814smounted on a pair of rotatable spools 13 and 14 appropriately journalledto top 60 wall 35 and a flange 15 struck out from an associateddepending wing or side as 48 of the frame. Wings or sides 48 and 49 arebent downwardly along the score lines 18 and the marginal rim 11 8thereof is bent to provide inclined inwardly extending flanges 18 andvertical flanges 19 to which the inclined upper and front walls of thekeyboard 58 are respectively and appropriately secured, k such as bysolder or the like.

Flanges 88 of the wings 48' and 49 are bent 7 inwardly and are utilizedas a seat to support the hollow casing formed by the frame and thekeyboard on a horizontal surface 8| or if desired suitable cushion andresilient feet 82 may be attached to flanges 88 to prevent marring ofsurface 8|. In addition flanges 83 are suitably connected .to

' pivotally the ends of the inclined wall 3| and'flanges 84 aresimilarly connected to the ends of horizontal wall I I while flanges 85are secured to the vertical rear wall 98. Tabs or tongues 86 of walls3|, I and 98 t are utilized to interconnect with striations as 86 ofwings 48 and 49 to connect these walls and flanges of the wings togetherin a manner well understoodin the art of sheet metal working.

The rear vertical wall 98 is provided with a terminal flange 81 havingend portions 88 to which is m appropriately attached resilient orcushion feet 83 to prevent marring of supporting surface 8| and tonguesor tabs 9| are utilized to facilitate securing end portions 88 toflanges 88.

The frame construction hereinbefore described 15 may be considered as ahollow casing having complementary parts, one constituted by the blankdisclosed in Fig. 11 and the other comprising keyboard 58 which issecured to the wings of the blank. In this connection, it will beobserved 20 that the keyboard is inclined and includes several rows ofspaced bosses 9| each identified by suitable indicia 92, the arrangementbeing such as to simulate the appearance of a conventional typewriter 2keyboard. 7

Inclined flange 4| of the frame I8 is provided with spaced suitableindicia as 94 and guide lines 95, which line up with correspondingindicia as 92 of associated bosses on the keyboard 58. For example,letter W of flange 4| has a guide line 95 30 and the latter is inalinement with boss W on the keyboard. If desired the indicia may beembossed on the inclined wall 4|. As analternative, an indicia strip maybe applied to inclined wall 4| in place of the embossing. 35 Swingablerelative to the sides of frame I8 is a crank 96 which comprises a rodhaving offset ends 91 rotatably carried by sides 48 and 49. This crankis actuated by the tail or rear portion 56 of selector 44 slidably androtatably carried by rod 40 41. That is to say, if the frontmanipulating portion 58 of selector 44 be depressed, tail 58 will beswung upwardly and consequently crank 91 will be swung rearwardly. Crank91 in turn actuates the pivoted presser arm or lever 33. causing headpor- 45 tion 34 thereof to project rearwardly through opening 32 andagainst a selected part of the endless type belt 61, such that theselected portion thereof is distended and moved against the platen I8where it casts an impression on the paper held 50 thereabout. Uponremoval of pressure from selector 44, lever 33 is urged forwardly by theresisting force in the belt due to contraction thereof. to normalposition.

Presser arm 33 has a lower offset portion 99 55 carried by a pin I88rigidly secured to a flange I8I bent downwardly from the horizontalrearwall II of the-frame.-

Rotatably mounted on. pin I88 is a lever I83 having at its upper endacam shaped portion I or nose I84 for actuating an escapement mechanismgenerally designated I85. Lever I83 is actuated by a link I88operatively attached to the lower end thereof. Link I88 is controlled bya depressible manipulator I81 pivotally sustained on a fulcrum pin I88fixedly carried by spaced depending lugs I88 struck out from thekeyboard at the-forward marginal portion thereof. More specifically linkI88 operatively interconnects lower portion of the depressiblemanipulator I81 70 and lever I83 such that if manipulator I81 isdepressed nose I84 is swung downwardly.

Cooperating with nose I84 is a forwardly extending lug I89'of a leverII8 which has one end pivoted on pin II2 carried by fixed arm I-I3 de-78 pending from and appropriately secured to horizontal wall II of theframe. To the other end II4 of lever I I0 is connected a terminal of ahellcoidal spring 5 having its upper portion anchored to wall II of theframe.

I Pivotally carried by lever H0 is a supplementary carriage lockinglever II6. More specifically lever I I0 has a fulcrum pin II1 on whichsupplementary lever H6 is pivotally retained. Lever I I6 has arelativelyheavy or weighted end H8 and therefore when lever IIO has beendepressed upon downward displacement of nose I04,

lever H6 automatically tilts relative to lever IIII due to the action ofthe weighted end H8. Limit of the swing or tilt of lever H6 iscontrolled by an attenuated extension 9 thereof cooperating with adepending stop lug I of wall II.

Extending upwardly from supplementary lever H6 is a tooth I2I whichcooperates progressively and severally with a series of alined andspaced similar perforations I22, I23, I24, I etc, disposed along thelength of flat bar or wall I3 of the rectilinearly displaceable carriageI2 for advancing the latter step by step upon each complete cycle oflever IIO. For example in Fig. 3, lever H0 is held normally raised byspring II5. lever I I6 is disposed horizontally and tooth I2I thereofextends through an opening I26 of wall II and projects into and throughan opening I22 of bar I3 of the carriage l2. If lever IIO be depressed,spring II5 becomes distended, and tooth I2I is moved out of its openingI22. Hence lever H6 tilts relative to lever IIO. Consequently. tooth I2| is freed of bar I3 of the carriage and the latter may be said to beunlocked.

- With the tooth I2I disposed in a perforation as illustrated in Fig. 3carriage I2 is held locked.

' Where the tooth is free of the carriage, the latter With the carriageinterlocked indicia selector may be advanced one step laterally on thereturn stroke of lever I I0 which takes place automaticall-y uponremoval of manual pressure from spacing manipulator I01 or upon removalof pressure by the operator from the selector 44.

On the return stroke of lever H0. tooth I2I 18. As the forward portion34 of the presser arm swings rearwardly, cam or nose I21 thereof abutslug I09 of lever IIO of the escapement. Consequently tooth I2I is freedfrom the platen carriage Tsee Fig. 12). Once tooth I2I is free, leverII6 tilts relative to lever IIO. Upon removal of pressure from selector44, spring II5 raises levers H0 and H6 and tooth I2I enters a nextsuccessive perforation as I23, advancing the platen carriage one step tothe left and the carrlage is locked, that is, tooth I2I interlocks withthe carriage to prevent lateral movement of the latter. When tooth I2lis in engagement with a perforation of the carriage I2, the latter isoperatively locked against lateral displacement to the left but thecarriage may be pushed to the right for starting a new line of typing.In this connection tooth I2I clicks in and out of successiveperforations against tension of spring I I5.

may be slidably moved along rod 41 in the selection of a characterdesired to be printed. If the selector be positioned to line up with theletter W" of the keyboard, corresponding type W of the type carryingendless belt 61- is registered with opening 32 of the frame and withpresser arm or member 34. Hence printing is effected upon depressing theforward part of selector 44, and pursuant to printing, the platencarriage is automatically advanced one step to the left.

As an aid to locating and holding the selector 44 in a predeterminedposition along rod 41, locking means have been provided to preventaccidental displacement of the selector after having been set for suchposition. For this purpose crank 96 is provided with a plurality ofspaced indentations I28 which resilently interlock with detent or ribI29 protruding from tail or rear portion 56 of selector 44. In otherwords after the selector is set, accidental displacement of the selectorrelative to supporting rod 41 is prevented.

Selector 44 carries an index or pointed portion I30 which is utilized toalign the selector severally with guide lines as associated withinclined wall M of the frame to facilitate the proper selection of typeof the endless belt 61. When selector 44 is slidably displaced relativeto rod 41, belt 61 is correspondingly displaced, the belt in itsmovement being guided by depending struck out projections 10 as shown inFig. 1 or with ink at the time of the registration with opening orwindow 32 of the frame.

With selector 44 slidably displaced along rod 41 but not depressed.however, endless type carrying belt 61 is slidably guided within theforward portion 34 of presser arm 33 in a retaining channel I3I. H

In accordance with the invention, the platen carriage may be laterallyadvanced independent of the operation of the selector. Hence from aninspection of Fig. 2, it will be observed. that if manipulator I01 bedepressed, lever I03 swings on pin I00 relative to presser arm 33. Hencethe escapement is operated although the presser arm is in an inoperativeposition.

In the form according to Fig. 14, selector 44 is slidably butnon-rotatably mounted on a squared rod I35.which is journalled in thespaced sides as 48 and 49 of the frame. Non-rotatably attached to rodI35 is a U shaped yoke I36. When selector 44 is depressed, rod I35 isrotated and consequently yoke I36 is raised. Hence presser arm 33 isactuated and moves rearwardly to project a selected portion of the typecarrying belt against the platen.

According to the form disclosed in Figs. 15 and 16, selector 44 whichcontrols displacement of the endless belt 61 is slidably mounted onsquare rod I35 and as the latter is rotated upon depression of theselector; spaced arms I31 carried by rod I35 have their inner endsupwardly displaced and consequently move inner portions of the spacedarms I31 upwardly. A'rms I 31' are fixed to square rod H38 to whichpresserv arm 33 is secured. Upon depression of selector 44, the

inner portions of arms I31 and I31 are moved upwardly by reason of alost motion connecwhich is disposed in an elongated slot I of acompanion'arm I3'l'.-

When arms I31 are actuated, rod I38 which is journalled in the spacedsides of the frame, is also rocked, and consequently, the upper portionof press'er arm 33 is projected against platen l8.

In the case of the embodiments disclosed in Figs. 14 to 16 inclusive,upon removal of manual pressure from selector 44, pressure arm 33thereof automatically retracts from the companion platen as in the caseaccording to the embodiment disclosed in Fig. 1.

After platen carriage 12 has been advanced step by step bodily to theleft, it may be conveniently and quickly displaced to the right. In

this connection, if a slight thrust towards the' right is imparted tothe left hand knob H, locking tooth I2! is moved downwardly and becomesfree of the carriage. The escapement bodily pivots on fulcrum pin H2against the resistance of spring H5 which becomes slightly distended.Upon stopping of the platen carriage, tooth l2| automatically enters anopening as I23 and interlocks therewith.

Without further detailed discussion, it is ap parent, that the presentinvention has as its primary object to provide an attractive educational toy having a simplified but practical construction particularlyapplicable for children's use and without further analysis, it isapparent that the toy typewriter of the character disclosed comprisesrelatively few parts, susceptible to inexpensive manufacture and ease ofassembling.

In the broader aspects of the invention, I do not desire to beunderstood as limiting its embodiments to the structural elements hereinshown illustratively and described in detail as a wide Variety ofmodifications may be made within the scope of the appended claimswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a toy typewriter, a casing having an opening, a step by stepshiftable carriage rectllinearly guidedon said casing and having anelongated plate comprising a plurality of perforations, a step by steprotatable platen supported by said carriage, control means, pivotedescapement means actuated .by said control means comprising a weightedmember disconnectable from a perforation of said plurality to releasesaid carriage, springs means cooperating with said escape'ment means toelevate said member to per mit the latter to cooperate with a nextsuccessive perforation of said plurality to advance said carriage andremovably interlock therewith, and

spacer means independent of said control means for operating saidescapement means to advance said carriage one step laterally.

2. In a toy typewriter, a casing, a carriage slidably guided on saidcasing and having a plate comprising a plurality of alined perforations,escapement means comprising a weighted pivoted member normallyinterlocked with a perforation of said plurality, manually controlledmeans for actuating said escapement means to disconnect said member fromsaid last mentioned perforation, spring means effective upon removal ofpressure from said manually controlled means for operating said memberto coact with a next successive perforation of said plurality to advancesaid carriage one step laterally and removably interlock therewith, anddriving means for actuating said escapement means independently of saidmanually controlled means.

3. In a toy typewriter, a casing, a carriage slidably guided by saidcasing and having a horizontal plate comprising a row of alinedperforations, an escapement member, means for pivotally supporting oneend of said escapement member, spring means normally holding another endof said escapement member elevated, and an unbalanced member pivoted tosaid escapement member and including means adapted to cooperate with oneof said perforations to advance said carriage one step laterally.

4. In a toy typewriter, a casing, a carriage slidably guided by saidcasing and having a horizontal plate comprising a row of alinedperforations, an escapement member, means for pivotally supporting oneendof said escapement member, spring means for holding another end ofsaid escapement member normally elevated, an unbalanced member pivotedto said escapement member and including projecting means cooperatingwith one of said perforations to prevent displacement of said carriage,and means to actuate said escapement member against the resistance ofsaid spring means and automatically tilt said unbalanced member toremove said proj ecting. means from one of said perforations.

5. In a toy typewriter, a casing, a carriage slidably guided on saidcasing and having a horizontal plate comprising a row of alined-perforations, an escapement member, means for pivotally supporting oneend of saidescapement member, spring means for holding another end ofsaid escapement member normally elevated, an unbalanced member pivotedto said escapement member and including projecting means cooperatingwith one of said perforations to prevent. displacement of said carriage,and means to actuate said escapement member against the resistance ofsaid spring means and automatically tilt said unbalanced member toremove said projecting means from one of said perforations, H

said spring means pursuant to release of said actuating means causingsaid escapement memher to be elevated to shift said unbalanced memberwhereby said projecting means enters another of said perforations todisplace said carriage one step laterally.

SIDNEY R. BELL.

